Cooked food staging device and method

ABSTRACT

A cooked food staging device and method is provided. The cooked food staging device allows previously cooked food items, particularly sandwich fillings such as hamburger patties, fish fillets, biscuits, Canadian bacon, pork sausage, eggs, chicken patties, chicken fillets and nuggets, to be stored over extended periods of time at an elevated temperature without significant deleterious effects to the appearance, taste and texture of the food while avoiding risk of bacterial contamination. The food staging device is composed of a plurality of discrete compartments bounded by upper and lower heated compartment surfaces. Food can be stored within the compartments in trays having side walls of a height such that a gap is achieved between the top of the tray and the upper compartment heated surface to limit and control the evaporation of liquid from the food stored therein.

RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/439,160, filed May 11, 1995, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device and method for storing cooked foodportions at elevated temperatures and more particularly to a stagingdevice for holding previously cooked food portions at elevatedtemperatures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Quick service restaurants face a number of conflicting factors whenstriving to provide fast, palatable and safe food. First, the customersexpect to receive their food quickly, with a minimum of delay and withpredictable and constant high quality. Moreover, the rate of customerdemand varies over time, with some periods, such as lunch and dinnertimes, having extremely high rates of customer demand. However, thekitchens of many quick service restaurants are of limited size and/orproduction capacity and thus necessarily have a limited number of foodcooking devices.

Typical food products that are of most interest include sandwiches thatare composed of a bun or other bakery cooked bread product and asandwich filling that is cooked at the quick service restaurant. Typicalsandwich fillings include hamburger patties, breaded fish fillets,Canadian bacon, pork sausage, eggs and breaded chicken patties, forexample, as well as other products, such as chicken nuggets, biscuits,muffins and hotcakes. Consequently, the cooked food supply capacity ofthe restaurant is limited by the size and number of food cooking deviceslocated at the restaurant.

To meet the competing factors of quick service and consistent highquality, it is advantageous for quick service restaurants to frequentlycook a number of individual food sandwich filling portions which arethen almost immediately incorporated into individual sandwiches and thenwrapped and held ready in advance of actual customer orders in an openstorage bin for a relatively short predetermined period of time. Toinsure constant high quality, if the items are not sold prior to theexpiration of that time, the sandwiches are destroyed. Holding thepreviously cooked, prepared and wrapped sandwiches incorporating thepreviously cooked sandwich fillings is thus of limited utility.

Since some quick service restaurants sell very large quantities of food,even a small increase in the efficiency of handling cooked sandwichfillings and other food would be desirable.

A need exists for a device and method that acts as a buffer between therelatively fixed and limited capacity of the sandwich filling cookingstep and the highly variable completed sandwich demand without anysignificant adverse impact on sandwich quality or food safety. Inaddition, a need also exists for a food staging device which promotesefficient food handling and use of space within the kitchen of the quickservice restaurant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an improved food stagingdevice and method for holding previously cooked food items at elevatedtemperatures is provided.

The device is particularly adapted for storing over extended periods oftime cooked sandwich fillings such as hamburger patties, fish fillets,Canadian bacon, pork sausage, eggs, chicken patties, chicken fillets, aswell as other types of food, including biscuits, muffins and hotcakes.When used in combination with trays specifically configured for use inthe staging device, the appearance, taste, and texture of the previouslycooked food items is maintained over extended storage periods (such asabout up to two hours depending on the type of food) without risk ofbacterial contamination. In addition, the device provides a measure ofquality control by insuring "doneness," which is defined as achievingthe required health code temperature and coloration.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is providedfor storing previously cooked food, that is especially suited for aplurality of individual portion sandwich fillings, over extended periodsof time without any significant detrimental effect on the quality of thefood, including the appearance, taste and texture and without risk ofbacterial contamination.

In one aspect, the food staging device in accordance with the inventionincludes a cabinet containing a plurality of discrete compartments, eachbounded by an upper heated compartment surface and a lower heatedcompartment surface. The upper and lower compartment surfaces areconstructed from a material having a high thermal conductivity,preferably from anodized aluminum. The previously cooked food portionsare held within the compartments until the food portions are sold orotherwise disposed of. The air currents throughout the cabinet, if any,are limited because each of the compartments is segregated from othercompartments and has solid upper and lower surfaces as well as closedsidewalls and limited access doors, the combination of which limits airflow in the compartments. In addition, air currents within thecompartments are limited because both the lower and upper surfaces ofthe compartments are heated, thereby minimizing regions of thermalgradients within the compartments.

The device also includes at least one inlet door on one side of thedevice for inserting the food portions into the compartments and onecomplementary outlet door on the opposite side of the device forremoving therethrough food portions contained in the compartments. Thispass-through configuration of the doors promotes an efficient use ofspace in the kitchen containing the device because, for example, thedevice can be positioned intermediate the food cooking area and thecooked food assembly area, thereby providing cooking and assemblyrestaurant personnel separate access to the device. One inlet andcorresponding outlet door may be provided to service one, two or morecompartments.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the device mayinclude a plurality of opposed corresponding inlet and outlet doors suchthat each of the compartments has its own inlet and outlet door. Inaddition, the inlet and outlet doors preferably are vertically spacedapart from each other by a distance approximately equal to the thicknessof the doors to enable the doors to open by swinging in a generallyupward direction, without any further structure enclosing the cabinetinterior in the area between adjacent doors from the exterior. Thus,there is provided a relatively narrow, elongated slot opening permittinglimited air flow between the compartment of the device and theatmosphere. Typically, the slot height should be no more than about 0.25inches. Using a separate inlet and outlet door for each compartmentfurther limits air transfer between the interior of the device and theatmosphere, thereby limiting vapor transfer from the cooked foodarticles contained therein and further protecting the appearance, taste,and texture of the food portions. The inlet and outlet doors preferablyare attached to the cabinet by pins located at the upper opposed edgesof the doors, enabling the doors to open by swinging in a generallyupward direction. If desired, no stops are provided for holding thedoors open. Consequently, the doors automatically close by their ownweight, thereby further minimizing air transfer and promoting arelatively constant temperature within the compartments. Alternatively,a stop may be provided for each door as desired to hold it in an openposition.

In another aspect, the food staging device in accordance with theinvention includes a cabinet containing a plurality of discretecompartments, each bounded by an upper heated compartment surface and alower heated compartment surface. However, no inlet or outlet doors areprovided to the compartments, leaving open, unobstructed inlet andoutlet areas. The upper and lower compartment surfaces are constructedfrom a material having a high thermal conductivity, preferably fromanodized aluminum. Air currents throughout the cabinet, if any, arelimited because each of the compartments is segregated from othercompartments and has solid upper and lower surfaces as well as closedsidewalls and the trays configured for use in the compartments are sizedto allow a minimum and controlled air gap between the top of the trayand the upper surface of the compartment. One inlet area is provided onone side of the device for inserting the food portions into thecompartments and one complementary outlet area is provided on theopposite side of the device for removing therethrough food portionscontained in the compartments. Generally, one inlet area and acorresponding outlet area are provided for access to each compartment.The unobstructed inlet and outlet areas provide cooking and assemblyrestaurant personnel quick access to the device for inserting andremoving cooked food. Using a separate inlet and outlet area for eachcompartment limits air transfer between the interior of the device andthe atmosphere, thereby limiting vapor transfer from the cooked foodarticles contained therein and further protecting the appearance, taste,and texture of the food portions.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the device includesa plurality of trays for containing the food portions. One type of trayincludes a sidewall having an upper edge and a lower edge, a closedbottom attached to the lower edge, and an open top defined by the upperedge. The trays have a height such that the top edges of the trays are apredetermined vertical distance, generally in the range of from 0 to0.090 inches and most preferably about 0.060 inches, from the upperheated compartment surface when the trays are inserted into thecompartments, thereby creating a controlled, almost sealed sectionbetween the tray and the compartment. The preferred gap for biscuits andhotcakes is about 0.125 inches. A typical tray height is in the rangefrom about 2 inches to about 2.5 inches. By limiting the space betweenthe top edges of the trays and the upper compartment surface, and platesurface temperature, evaporation of liquid from the cooked food portionsis minimized, thereby maintaining the appearance, taste, and texture ofthe cooked food held in the device over extended storage periods such asup to about two hours. In addition, the trays can be configured suchthat the length of the trays is less than but approximately equal to thedepth of the compartments thereby enabling easy removal of the traysthrough the outlet area of the compartment.

Typical storage temperatures are in the range of from about 145-210° F.and preferably about 155° F. for biscuits, hamburger patties, grilledchicken, eggs, Canadian bacon, pork sausage, hotcakes and muffins, about200° F. for breaded chicken nuggets, breaded chicken fillets and breadedfish fillets. Trays with solid bottoms and raised sides are preferredfor unbreaded meat and other food products such as hamburger patties,grilled chicken, eggs, Canadian bacon, pork sausage, biscuits, muffinsand hotcakes. Flat trays with a mesh or wire grid with medium sides arepreferred for fried breaded products including breaded chicken nuggets,breaded chicken and fish fillets.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, each of thecompartments includes an upper electric resistance heating element forheating the upper compartment surface and a lower electric resistanceheating element for heating the lower compartment surface. Additionally,temperature sensors are provided on the upper and lower compartmentsurfaces for monitoring the temperature of each surface. Thetemperatures generated by the heating elements therefore can beindividually monitored and controlled by appropriate control circuitry.Consequently, the compartment temperatures can be separately controlledthus providing different holding temperatures in different compartments.As a result, the device can be used to simultaneously hold previouslycooked food items at two or more temperatures, therefore eliminating theneed for separate staging devices and further promoting an efficient useof space within the kitchen containing the staging device.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of storingpreviously cooked food products is provided. In accordance with thismethod, the previously cooked food products (such as individual portionsandwich fillings) are stored in a device that is composed of at leastone compartment for holding the food portions, with the compartmentbounded by upper and lower heated compartment surfaces. A cabinetdefines an enclosed volume for housing the compartment therein, thecabinet including at least one area for inserting and removing the foodportions from the compartment, where the compartment has a predeterminedcompartment height and width. The method includes placing the previouslycooked sandwich fillings in at least one tray having a solid bottom andupwardly extending tray walls resulting in a tray height that is about 0to 0.090 inches less than the compartment height. Thereafter, the traycontaining the cooked sandwich fillings is placed in the heatedcompartment with the heated compartment surfaces having a temperature inthe range of from about 145° F. to less than the boiling point of water.A gap is achieved between the top of the tray and the upper heatedcompartment surface between about 0 and 0.090 inches for restricting andcontrolling water vapor evaporating from the sandwich fillings containedin the tray. Thereafter, the inlet door is closed, if there is one, andthe sandwich fillings in the tray are stored for a desired period oftime.

Preferably, in accordance with the foregoing method, the cooked sandwichfillings stored in the tray fill at least about 5% and most preferablyat least 50% of the tray volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooked food staging device accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away side elevational view of the device inFIG. 1 showing the placement of food-containing trays within the device;

FIG. 4 is a partially cut-away front elevational view of a secondcooked-food staging device according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially cut-away side elevational view of the device inFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of two of the heated shelves within thedevice in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 5 showing theattachment of the shelves to the cabinet of the device in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a portion of the food stagingdevice of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a tray for use in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative tray used in the device;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a wire grid support used in the device;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the wire grid support of FIG. 11 takenalong line 12--12 of FIG. 11 and having schematic food portions depictedthereon;

FIG. 13 is a partial elevational view of the interior of a cooked foodstaging device according to the invention and showing an alternativemeans for securing shelves within the device;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the interior of the device in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a portion of the interior of the devicein FIG. 13 taken along line 15--15 of FIG. 14 and showing a shelftherein;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a third cooked food staging deviceaccording to the invention;

FIG. 17 is a front elevational view of the device in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a partial sectional view of the device taken along line18--18 in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a compartment of the device in FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line 20--20 in FIG. 19; and

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along line 21--21 in FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the Figures generally, where like reference numerals referto like structure, and in particular to FIGS. 1-3, there is illustrateda cooked food staging device 20 according to the invention. Device 20includes a cabinet 22 having two sidewalls 24 and 26, a closed top 28,and a closed bottom 30. As shown in FIG. 1, device 20 may be supportedby a separate support structure 31. Alternatively, device 20 may restdirectly on the floor (not shown) where codes permit or on a table (notshown) via bottom 30. Front 27 of device 20 also includes verticallyspaced apart inlet doors 32A-E and 34A-B, located on inlet side I ofdevice 20, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Inlet doors 32A-E swing openupwardly and generally are all the same width and height. Inlet doors34A-B, however, are larger than inlet doors 32A-E to provide access tolarger holding compartments for larger cooked food items, such asbiscuits 36, as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, all inlet doors can havethe same dimensions. As shown in FIG. 3, device 20 also includes outletdoors 33A-E, located opposite inlet doors 32A-E, and outlet doors 35A-B,located opposite inlet doors 34A-B. For each inlet door 32A-E or 34A-Bthere is a corresponding outlet door 33A-E or 35A-B located on outletside O of device 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of inlet doors 32A-Eand 34A-B, as well as outlet doors 33A-E and 35A-B, are hinged tocabinet 22 along their upper edges and can include a reinforcing member38 (shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 8) attached to their upper edges. Reinforcingmembers 38 generally are U-shaped channels extending along the length ofeach door 32-35, with the top portion of each door 32-35 being disposedin a force-fit relationship in the channel portion of its respectivereinforcing member 38. Each of reinforcing members 38 has ends 39 thatare closed as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8 and each has a pin 39'mounted thereto and extending parallel to the length of member 38. Eachpin 39' is disposed in a corresponding aperture (not shown) in cabinet22, to provide the hinging mechanism for doors 32-35.

Raising doors 32A-E, 33A-E, 34A-B and 35A-B provides access into thediscrete, heated compartments 40A-E and 42A-B, respectively, containedwithin cabinet 22, as best seen in FIG. 3.

Doors 32A-E, 33A-E, 34A-B and 35A-B include handles 44 to facilitateopening doors 32A-E, 33A-E, 34A-B and 35A-B to gain access tocompartments 40A-E and 42A-B. Doors 32A-E, 33A-E, 34A-B and 35A-B do notinclude any stop members which would retain them in an open position.Each of doors 32A-E, 33A-E, 34A-B and 35A-B thus moves to a closedposition under its own weight when its respective handles 44 arereleased, thereby preventing sustained heat losses from compartments40A-E and 42A-B. Each door is spaced apart from its adjacent door(s) bya predetermined distance approximately equal to and slightly greaterthan the thickness of the lower of the two doors. For example, as seenin FIG. 2, door 34B is spaced apart from adjacent door 34A by a distance37 which is approximately equal to the thickness of door 34B. In apreferred embodiment, the door thickness is about 0.25 inches anddistance 37 is slightly greater than about 0.25 inches. Cabinet 22 canalso include a fixed upper front panel 46 located above top inlet door32A and a fixed lower front panel 48 located below bottom inlet door34B, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Similar panels 46' and 48' are providedfor the outlet side O of device 20. A control keyboard 50 and a display52 located along panel 46 are operatively connected to the controlcircuitry of device 20 and enable programming and monitoring of thetemperatures and times within each of the heated compartments 40A-E and42A-B.

Preferably, control keyboard 50 controls a microprocessor controller(not shown) that is programmed in a known manner to provide the desiredtemperature control, time control and display information. Preferably,each of compartments 40A-E and 42A-B is programmable to a desired setpoint temperature within the specified temperature range for upper andlower heated surfaces 64 and 66, depending on product type.

If desired, a separate display can be provided for breakfast, lunch anddinner types of food. The display can be divided into a series of rowsand columns, each row corresponding to one of compartments 40A-E and42A-B. Each column corresponds to a horizontal tray position. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, there are five horizontal tray positions(trays 54A-E) and seven compartments resulting in a display having sevenrows and five columns. Each column and row can be set to display the rowand column number, the name of product stored in that position in device20 and the countdown hold time remaining for that particular product.Preferably, the row and column display with the lowest time remainingfor that product will be highlighted on the display so that the operatorcan select that tray first.

When a product type is selected for a particular row and column, thedesired temperature set points are implemented for the correspondingupper and lower heated surfaces 64 and 66. The microprocessor controllerchecks the other columns (positions) in that row (shelf) for compatibletemperatures considering food products already in storage on that shelf,and if not compatible, an audible beep can be generated, the input notaccepted and "incompatible product selection" or other warning asdesired displayed on display 52. For example, chicken nuggets (200° F.storage temperature) should not be stored on the same shelf withhamburger patties (170° F. storage temperature.)

FIG. 2 shows device 20 with inlet door 32B raised to provide access totrays 54A-E within compartment 40B. For ease of handling by a person,trays 54A-G preferably are constructed from a material having a low heatcapacity, such as polycarbonate. Preferably, each of trays 54A-E, aswell as trays 54F-G shown in FIG. 3, has a width 56 smaller than thewidth 58 of compartments 40A-E and 42A-B to permit placing more than onetray within a compartment. FIGS. 9 and 10 depict trays 54G and 54A,respectively. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, width 56 ischosen relative to width 58 such that five trays 54A-E will fit withinany of compartments 40A-E and 42A-B. In addition, each of the trays hasa length almost equal to the depth 62 of compartments 40A-E and 42A-B,as seen in FIG. 3. For example, tray 54F is of length 60.

Each of compartments 40A-E and 42A-B is bounded by an upper heatedcompartment surface 64A-G and a lower heated compartment surface 66A-G,as shown in FIG. 3. Each of lower heated compartment surfaces 66A-G isflat and substantially horizontal to provide uniform heat transfer totrays 54A-G and permit easy sliding of those trays along the surface oflower heated compartment surfaces 66A-G. Each of trays 54A-F has aheight 68 defined by the distance between the upper edge 70 of thesidewall 72 and the lower edge 74 of sidewall 72 of trays 54A-F. Height68 is chosen so that upper edge 70 of any of trays 54A-F is at apredetermined distance 76 from upper compartment surfaces 64A-F whentrays 54A-F are placed within compartments 40A-E so that vapor transferout of the interior of the trays is minimized, thereby also minimizingthe fluid loss of the cooked food portions stored therein which isimportant for cooked food stored in trays 54 such as egg products,hamburger patties, grilled chicken, pork sausage and Canadian bacon.Preferably for such food, the cooked food portions fill more than about5% and more preferably about 17-50% or more of the volume of trays 54when stored in device 20. Generally, minimal vapor transfer is achievedout of the interior of the trays when distance 76 is in the range of0-0.090 inches. Most preferably, height 68 is chosen so that thedistance 76 is approximately 0.060 inches (0.125 inches for biscuits).In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, compartments 42A-B are of greaterheight than compartments 40A-E to accommodate larger food portions suchas biscuits 36. Consequently, when trays 54A-F are placed withincompartments 42A-B, upper edges 70 are at a substantial distance greaterthan distance 76 from upper heated compartment surfaces 64F-G. Sidewall73 of tray 54G has an increased height 69 so that a gap 77 is providedbetween the upper edge 70' of tray 54G and upper heated compartmentsurface 64G. Gap 77 is about 0.060 inches (0.125 inches for biscuits).

For cooked, breaded food such as breaded chicken nuggets, breaded fishand chicken fillets, achieving minimal vapor transfer is usually notdesirable because such food may have a tendency to become soggy.Sogginess is usually objectionable for cooked, breaded food products.Consequently, a larger gap than distance 76 should be employed such asat least 1.0 inch, for example. Alternatively, cooked, breaded foodproducts may be stored within one or more of compartments 40A-E or 42A-Bon a wire grid support or on a tray having a wire grid support therein.FIGS. 11-12 illustrate a wire grid support 79 that is suitable forsupporting cooked, breaded food products within compartments 40A-E and42A-B.

Wire grid support 79 comprises a tray 81 made of ultem or a similarmaterial that houses a removable frame 87. Frame 87 is connected to agrid having wires 83 and perpendicular wires 85 as shown in FIGS. 11 and12. Cooked, breaded food products P are placed on wire grid support 79in order to provide air circulation beneath breaded food products P sothat they do not become soggy. Wires 83 and 85 have a diameter of about0.06 inches, thereby providing a spacing from the surface of tray 81 ofabout 0.250 inches. It is advantageous to minimize the distance from theheated surface yet still provide an air space from the heated lowercompartment surfaces 66A-G.

Returning now to FIG. 3, upper heated compartment surfaces 64A-G andlower heated compartment surfaces 66A-G are constructed from a materialhaving a high thermal conductivity and preferably are constructed fromanodized aluminum.

The previously cooked food portions are held within compartments 40A-Eand 42A-B, preferably within trays 54A-G, until sold or otherwisedisposed of. Because compartments 40A-E and 42A-B are discrete, withwell-defined upper heated compartment surfaces 64A-G and well-definedlower heated compartment surfaces 66A-G, air currents throughout cabinet22, if any, are limited because surfaces 64A-G and 66A-G obstruct airflow within cabinet 22. In addition, air currents within compartments40A-E and 42A-B, if any, are limited because both upper heatedcompartment surfaces 64A-G and lower heated compartment surfaces 66A-Gare heated thereby reducing or eliminating thermal incongruities withincompartments 40A-E and 42A-B. By restricting the air currents throughoutcabinet 22 and within compartments 40A-E and 42A-B, device 20 reducesthe amount of moisture lost from the food portions held therein and thusprotects the appearance, taste, and texture of the food portions.Evaporation of liquid from the food portions is further minimized bychoosing height 68 of trays 54A-F such that upper edges 70 of trays54A-F are at a small, predetermined distance 76, generally preferablygreater than 0 and less than about 0.090 inches and most preferably0.060 inches, from upper compartment surfaces 64A-E when trays 54A-F areplaced within compartments 40A-E for minimizing vapor loss from the foodcontained therein. For increasing the amount of vapor loss, gap 77 canbe increased.

Device 20 also promotes an efficient use of space within a kitchencontaining device 20. A kitchen in a quick service restaurant isfrequently divided into two or more work areas. For example, the foodcooking area can include food cooking devices such as grills, deep fatfryers, and other cooking devices, for example, for cooking sandwichfillings such as hamburger patties, fish fillets, chicken fillets, eggsand chicken nuggets. After being cooked, the food portions aretransported to the sandwich assembly area for sandwich assembly whichcan include applying condiments to the cooked food portions, placing thecooked food portion in a roll or bun, and/or wrapping the cooked foodportions. Consequently, restaurant personnel in the food cooking areaand in the sandwich assembly area handle the cooked food portions.Device 20 promotes an efficient use of space when device 20 is locatedwithin the kitchen intermediate the food cooking area and the sandwichassembly area. When so positioned, the restaurant personnel responsiblefor cooking can place a tray 54E containing the cooked food portionswithin compartment 40A through inlet door 32A of device 20 of inlet sideI, as shown in FIG. 3. Then, when the cooked food portions are neededfor assembly into a sandwich, restaurant personnel remove tray 54E fromcompartment 40A through outlet door 33A of outlet side O of device 20,as shown in FIG. 3. The flow-through configuration of inlet doors 32A-Eand outlet doors 33A-E thus enables the cooking and assembly personnelto have completely separate access to cooked food portions held withindevice 20. Of course, the cooked food portions may be removed throughinlet door 32A of inlet side I.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a second embodiment of a cooked-food stagingdevice 80 according to the invention. Device 80 includes a cabinet 82having two sidewalls 84, 86, a closed top 88, a closed bottom 90, anupper front panel 92, a lower front panel 94, and a right front panel96. Keyboards 114 and displays 116 are provided in right front panel 96to program and monitor the temperatures within the holding chambers100A-F contained within cabinet 82. Holding chambers 100A-F are boundedby upper heated chamber surfaces 102 and lower heated chamber surfaces104. Chambers 100A-F are also bounded by inlet doors 108A-F and outletdoors 112A-F hingedly attached along their upper surfaces to cabinet 82in a manner as described previously with respect to device 20. Doors108A-F and 112A-F are lifted by grasping handles 118 to thereby gainaccess to chambers 100A-F. In FIG. 4, inlet doors 108A and 108B areraised to reveal trays 120 contained within chambers 100A and 100B. Thewidth 122 of trays 120 is such that three trays 120 will fit within anyof chambers 100A-F. The length 124 of trays 120 is almost equal to thedepth of chambers 100A-F so that trays 120 may be readily handledthrough inlet doors 108A-F and through outlet doors 112A-F, as best seenin FIG. 5. Cabinet 82 can also include a compartment 98 for holdingnon-heated food portions. Compartment 98 is bounded by an inlet door 106and an outlet door 110, both of which provide access to compartment 98.Doors 106 and 110 include handles 118 for rotating doors 106 and 110along their upper hinged edges.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate one system for attaching upper heated chambersurfaces 102 and lower heated chamber surfaces 104 to cabinet 82.Surfaces 102 and 104 are parts of shelves 126 and 128 which containheating components for heating surfaces 102 and 104. Preferably, thesource of heat is an electric resistance heating element, theconstruction of which is well known in the art. In addition to surface102, shelf 126 includes a hollow housing 130 overlying surface 102. Theheating component is positioned within the space between housing 130 andsurface 102. Similarly, shelf 128 includes surface 104, an underlyinghousing 132, and a heating component positioned inside housing 132.Surfaces 102 and 104 are attached to housings 130 and 132 byconventional methods, such as rivets 134. Surfaces 102 and 104 extendbeyond housings 130 and 132 to form flanges 136 and 138 which containholes 140 and 142 for attaching shelves 126 and 128 to cabinet 82.Surfaces 102 and 104 are separated by two spacers 144, each of whichincludes posts 148 for engaging the holes of the overlying flange, forexample, holes 140 of flange 136. Clips 150 underlying shelf 128 includeposts 152 for engaging holes 142 of flange 138. Clips 150 also includeprongs 154 for engaging shelf brackets 156 attached to sidewalls 84 and86.

As best seen in FIG. 7, shelf 128, including lower heated chambersurface 104, is attached to clip 150 by inserting post 152 through hole142 of flange 138. Clip 150 in turn is attached to bracket 156 viaprongs 154. Spacer 144 is then positioned over shelf 128 and clip 150 sothat post 152 is inserted into an opening in the bottom of spacer 144.Finally, shelf 126 is aligned with and mounted on spacer 144 so thatpost 148 extends through hole 140 in flange 136. The height 158 of trays120 is chosen so that the top edges 160 of trays 120 are at apredetermined distance from upper heated chamber surfaces 102, aspreviously described with respect to device 20, when trays 120 areplaced within chambers 100A-F. However, since the height of chambers100A-F is determined by the height of spacers 144, different chamberdimensions can be achieved by using differently sized spacers.Consequently, device 80 can be readily configured to provide holdingchambers which can accommodate trays having various heights.

An alternative preferred embodiment device is depicted in FIGS. 13-15 asstaging device 180. Staging device 180 has an exterior sidewall 182 andan interior sidewall 183 attached thereto, as most clearly seen in FIG.14 by any suitable structure, such as by a weld or fastener, forexample. Angle irons 184A-G are mounted to interior side wall 183 tosupport shelves 186A-G. Each end of angle irons 184A-G uses an upturnedtab 184' for preventing lateral movement of shelves 186A-G when mountedthereon. Shelves 186A-G define heated compartments 188A-H.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of shelf 186C, which is representative ofthe other shelves. Shelf 186C includes an upper heated surface 190, alower heated surface 192 and a housing 194 for storing the heatingcomponents (not shown).

In use, device 80 can be positioned within the kitchen of a quickservice restaurant in an area intermediate the food cooking area and thefood finishing area. The flow-through design of inlet doors 106 and108A-F and outlet doors 110 and 112A-F thus promotes an efficient use ofspace within the kitchen. Device 80 also protects the appearance, taste,and texture of cooked food portions held therein because the discreteupper and lower heated chamber surfaces 102 and 104 limit air currentswithin device 80, thereby reducing or eliminating moisture losses fromthe food portions. In addition, electrical resistive heating elementscan be used as the heating components for heating surfaces 102 and 104.Such heating elements can be individually controlled by the controlcircuitry of device 80. As a result, device 80 can be used tosimultaneously hold previously cooked food portions at two or moretemperatures, therefore eliminating the need for separate stagingdevices and further promoting an efficient use of space within thekitchen containing device 80. Generally, the heated chamber surfaceswill be maintained in the temperature range from about 145° F. to lessthan the boiling point of water during the period of time that thesandwich fillings are stored in the chambers.

In FIGS. 16-18 there is illustrated a third preferred embodiment of acooked food staging device 220 according to the invention. Device 220includes a cabinet 222 having two sidewalls 224 and 226, a closed top228, and a closed bottom 230. Sidewalls 224, 226 have air vents 260, 261near closed bottom 230. Front 227 of device 220 also includes verticallyspaced apart inlet areas 232A-D, located on inlet side I of device 220,as illustrated in FIG. 18. Inlet areas 232A-D generally are all the samewidth and height. However, larger or smaller inlet areas or inlet areasof different heights and widths may be provided to access holdingcompartments for larger or smaller cooked food items. As shown in FIG.18, device 220 also includes outlet areas 233A-D, located opposite inletareas 232A-D. For each inlet area 232A-D there is a corresponding outletarea 233A-D located on outlet side O of device 220. Inlet areas 232A-Dand outlet areas 233A-D provide access into the discrete, heatedcompartments 240A-D contained within cabinet 222.

Cabinet 222 can also include a fixed upper front panel 246 located abovetop inlet area 232A and a fixed upper front panel 246' located aboveupper outlet area 233A, as seen in FIGS. 16-18. In the area of cabinet222 behind upper front panels 246, 246', electronics and other equipmentfor cooked food staging device 220 may be housed. Preferably, powerequipment, electronics for monitoring and controlling the temperature ofthe holding compartments, electronics for controlling the displays and afan for circulating air through cabinet 222 via the side panel vents260, 261 are housed behind fixed upper panels 246, 246'.

Above each inlet area 232A-D and each outlet area 233A-D, are controland display areas 264A-D and 266A-D, respectively. As shown in FIG. 17,the width of compartment 240B is sized to hold three trays 263representing three column positions in the compartment. Preferably,three displays are provided in control and display area 264A-D and266A-D representing the three tray positions. The displays areprogrammed to alternatively display the type of food product held in thetray position and the time remaining for holding the cooked food item inthe tray position. The control buttons are used to select a product typefor a tray position and reset the time remaining. Preferably selectingthe product type will automatically select the temperature andappropriate holding time. Most preferably, the control circuitryprevents cooked food items requiring different temperature settings frombeing placed in the same compartment by visually and/or audibly alertingpersonnel to this situation. Notably, control and display areas 264A-Dare replicated on outlet side O as control and display areas 266A-D andare controllable from either inlet side I or outlet side O for theconvenience of the restaurant personnel.

The heated compartments housed in cabinet 222 are preferably of amodular construction. FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of compartment240A of device 220. Compartment 240A is representative of compartments240B-D. Compartment 240A is bounded by an upper heated compartmentsurface 270, a lower heated compartment surface 272 and spacers 274,276. The upper heated compartment surface 270 and the lower heatedcompartment surface 272 are preferably made of black anodized aluminum.Bezzles or face plates 278, 280 are provided at the inlet side andoutlet side of the compartment. The face plates 278, 280 form a portionof the front and back surfaces, respectively, of cabinet 222. The faceplates 278, 280 have openings coinciding with the inlet and outlet areasof the compartment and the control and display areas. The face plates278, 280 are preferably injection molded. An electric resistance heatingelement 284 is adhesively attached to the top surface of upper heatedcompartment surface 270 and a similar heating element 286 is provided onthe bottom surface of lower heated compartment surface 272. Atemperature sensor 287, such as a thermal couple or thermistor, ispreferably centrally located under heating element 284 to sense thetemperature for the control circuitry. A similar temperature sensor (notshown) is provided under heating element 286.

A preferred heating element is composed of a wire or other electricalresistance element confined between and insulated by two layers ofsilicon rubber material. The layers of silicon rubber material arebonded together and bonded to heated compartment surfaces 270, 272 byheating. The preferred heating element is approximately 1/16" thick andis available from Heatron of Leavenworth, Kans.

As discussed previously, an important aspect of the present invention ismaintaining a minimal gap between the tray and the upper heating elementof the compartment holding the tray. The heights of trays 263 are chosenso that the top edges of trays 263 are at a predetermined distance fromthe upper heated surface. The lengths of trays 263 are almost equal tothe depth of compartments 240A-D. As shown in FIG. 20, spacers 274, 276preferably have extruded slots 290, 292 which receive the upper heatedcompartment surface 270 and lower heated compartment surface 272,respectively. The slots 290, 292 are preferably extruded to maintain aprecise height separating upper heated surface 270 from lower heatedsurface 272. Thus, a tray may be sized to maintain the preferred minimumgap of 0.060 inches between the top edge of the tray and the upperheated surface.

An alternative to the embodiments of the cooked food staging device isto provide the cabinet with a closed back, eliminating the outlet side Oand removing all associated access, displays and controls.Alternatively, the discrete heated compartments may be provided with aback or otherwise closed at the outlet side O. This alternativeembodiment is particularly useful where the cooked food staging deviceis not placed in a location intermediate the food cooking area and thefood assembly area. For example, in a quick service restaurant wherethere is very limited space, the alternative closed back embodiment maybe used, allowing restaurant personnel access only from the inlet side.

Described herein is a device and method for storing cooked food portionsat elevated temperatures. With the present invention, food may be storedfor a limited period of time without any significant adverse impact onquality or safety. The invention promotes efficient food handling anduse of space within the kitchen of a quick service restaurant. However,the invention need not be limited to use in a quick service restaurant.The invention is useful in cafeterias, commissary kitchens, and the likefor all types of products such as chicken breast, prime rib, lasagna andvegetables.

Whereas the present invention has been described with respect tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changesand modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the invention encompass such changes and modifications asfall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for holding a plurality of previouslycooked food portions at elevated temperatures, comprising:a plurality ofcompartments for holding the food portions, each of said plurality ofcompartments having a compartment height and being bounded by an upperheated compartment surface and a lower heated compartment surface; acabinet defining a volume that encloses said plurality of compartmentstherein, said cabinet including one inlet area for inserting the foodportions into said compartment and an outlet area opposite said inletarea for removing the food portions contained in said plurality ofcompartments, said inlet and outlet areas located on opposed sides ofsaid cabinet; and at least one tray for containing the previously cookedfood portions, said tray including a tray bottom and a tray sidewall,said tray sidewall extending upwardly from said tray bottom andterminating at an upper edge, wherein said tray has a height that iszero to about 0.25 inches less than the height of at least one of saidplurality of compartments such that when said tray is stored in said atleast one of said plurality of compartments, evaporation of liquid fromthe cooked food portions contained within said tray is restricted. 2.The device in claim 1 wherein the height of said tray is approximately0.060 inches less than the height of at least one of said plurality ofcompartments.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein the height of each ofsaid plurality of compartments is about 2.5 inches.
 4. The device inclaim 1 wherein said at least one tray has a length that is less thanand substantially equal to a depth of said plurality of compartments. 5.The device of claim 1 wherein said lower heated compartment surface isheated by a respective lower electric resistance heating element andsaid upper heated compartment surface is heated by a respective upperelectric resistance heating element.
 6. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid upper and lower heated compartment surfaces are substantiallyplanar and horizontal.
 7. A device for holding a plurality of previouslycooked food portions at elevated temperatures, comprising:a cabinethaving a cabinet front, a cabinet rear, spaced-apart first and secondopposed sidewalls, a top and a bottom; an uppermost shelf and alowermost shelf, said uppermost shelf comprising a lower heated surfaceand said lowermost shelf comprising an upper heated surface; means forheating said upper and lower heated surfaces; at least one interiorshelf located above said lowermost shelf and below said uppermost shelfand comprising an upper surface, a lower surface vertically spaced apartfrom the upper surface, and heating means for heating said upper surfaceand said lower surface of said interior shelf, said heating means beinglocated in the space between said upper surface and said lower surfaceof said interior shelf; an upper holding chamber and a lower holdingchamber for containing cooked food portions, said upper holding chamberbeing bounded and heated by a lower heated chamber surface defined bythe upper surface of the interior shelf and an upper heated chambersurface defined by the lower heated surface of the uppermost shelf, saidlower holding chamber being bounded and heated by a lower heated chambersurface defined by said upper heated surface of the lowermost shelf, andan upper heated chamber surface defined by said lower surface of saidinterior shelf; upper and lower inlet areas located in said cabinetfront for inserting the food portions into said upper and lower holdingchambers, respectively; and upper and lower outlet areas opposite saidupper and lower inlet areas, respectively, and located in said cabinetrear, for removing the cooked food portions from said upper and lowerholding chambers, respectively; and an upper tray for containing thepreviously cooked food portions, said upper tray comprising a bottom anda sidewall extending upwardly from said bottom, said sidewall definingan upper tray height that is in the range of from about 0 inches toabout 0.25 inches less than the height of said upper holding chamber;and a lower tray for containing the previously cooked food portions,said lower tray comprising a bottom and a sidewall extending upwardlyfrom said bottom, said sidewall defining a lower tray height that is inthe range of from about 0 inches to about 0.25 inches less than theheight of said lower holding chamber.
 8. The device of claim 7 whereinsaid upper holding chamber has a first height and said lower holdingchamber has a second height and said first height is different from saidsecond height.
 9. The device of claim 8 wherein said upper tray heightis approximately 0.060 inches less than the first height of said upperholding chamber and said lower tray height is approximately 0.060 inchesless than the second height of said lower holding chamber.
 10. Thedevice of claim 8 wherein the length of said upper and lower trays isless than and substantially equal to a depth of said upper and lowerholding chambers, respectively.
 11. The device of claim 7 wherein saidmeans for heating said interior shelf and said means for heating saiduppermost and lowermost shelves each comprises at least one electricresistance heating element.
 12. A method of storing previously cookedfood portions in a device having at least one heated compartment forholding the food portions bounded by upper and lower heated compartmentsurfaces, and a cabinet defining an enclosed volume for containing thecompartment therein, the cabinet including at least one area forinserting and removing the food portions into the compartment, thecompartment having a compartment height and a compartment width,comprising the steps of:placing the previously cooked food portions in atray having a tray height that is about 0 to 0.090 inches less than thecompartment height; placing the tray containing the cooked food portionsin the heated compartment, the heated compartment surfaces having atemperature in the range of from about 145° F. to less than the boilingpoint of water and achieving a gap between about 0 and 0.090 inchesbetween the top of the tray and the upper heated compartment surface forrestricting water vapor evaporating from the food portions contained inthe tray; and storing the food portions in the tray in the compartmentfor a desired period of time.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein thestep of placing the food portions in a tray comprises placing sufficientfood portions in the tray to fill at least 5% of the volume of the tray.14. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of placing the food portionsin a tray comprises placing sufficient food portions in the tray to fillat least 50% of the volume of the tray.
 15. The method of claim 12further comprising the step of maintaining the heated compartmentsurfaces in the temperature range of from about 145° F. to less than theboiling point of water during the period of time that the food portionsare stored in the compartment.